EEK a nail in the MPS

[Z8Mania]

I was wondering why the lovely Z8 was sitting very lopsided in my garage and as I walked around the severely leaning beauty I saw it. The driver's side rear Michelin Pilot Sport is completely flat. I added some air and I could hear "sssssssssssssssss" and I looked and saw a nail in the tread.

So I am using this as an opportunity to upgrade the 2nd most critical part of my vehicle, behind myself of course! I am leaning towards using the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A Pole Position. These are not runflats, they are high performance tires which seem to have trickle down benefits from the other Bridgestone high performance tires. I would probably have put MPS2 on the Z8 but they are unavailable in the OEM sizes. So my criteria is max performance in the dry, but the ability to handle any pop up rain storms and must fit the OEM rims. I cannot find a better candidate than the 050A-PP. If anyone has any thoughts please let me know. I hope to get these fitted ASAP and once I have several hundred miles on them I will give a report.

Heres a link where you can see the tires that would fit the OEM wheels. Note they do make a 050A run flat- the Pole Positions are NOT run flats. Use the tire rack website selector, select BMW and 2001 and Z8- the last time I went there they did not know that in 2000 there were Z8s as well.

Btw- because the tire shop I want to use is somewhat close I want to drive there if possible. Good news- the M Mobility kit seems to have worked! The tire has held tire pressure for 18+ hours!!! I have to admit I didnt think it would work. My first drive on the new tires will be to the dealer to dispose of and to replace the old can of goo. Btw- it says it expired 3 years ago and it still worked!

[thegunguy]

Jerry,

Please report back on the RE050 PPs. A few poeple have talked about getting them recently, but no one has posted a review. Since the OE sized MPS2 don't seem to be materializing as expected, the RE050 PPs might bet the best choice for the next few years.

[Dogsbreath]

Don't overlook the Dunlop Sport Maxx's. I installed these and am thoroughly impressed. I will be doing some track work and high speed runs on them at the end of the month. I will let you know how they perform.

Dave P

[Z8Mania]

Thanks for the input on the Dunlops. I ended up going with the Pole Positions as I consider this to be the newest tire tech available for the OEM sizes. The tires are in and will be fitted tomorrow. Its supposed to rain (figures) I will post initial impressions, but tires take several hundred miles to properly break in so initial impressions will be just that.

[macfly]

but happy to know we'll get some great observations on these new tires in from you!

[Z8Mania]

First impression: naming a tire "pole position" is not a bad idea at all! :) But having 2 variations of "RE050A" tire can be confusing! :confused:

I also ordered the Tire Cradles that I saw mentioned elsewhere as I think my MPS were suffering from some minor flat spotting.

[Z8Mania]

So here is a brief writeup on the tires.

I now have about 200 miles on the tires. In short they are noticeably better than the MPS1. They are an improvement in every area. I tried them in the wet and they offer MUCH more grip in the wet. In the dry Id say every aspect has improved except maybe tire noise, which I am kind of oblivious to anyway, and I would not say they are worse than the MPS1.

The PPs offer a lot more feedback at lower speeds. At higher speeds the feedback level is about the same as MPS1, maybe a tad better. Also at higher speeds these tires are more stable. My car is still a little too springy/ floaty for my tastes at higher speeds so I will do something once we see what the Performance Package from BMW is about. Dry grip is about the same in terms of DSC coming on when you change gears- most notably a hard 1-2 shift will still cause DSC intervention. Turn in feels a little crisper with the PPs. And whats interesting is the car feels more stable under braking and especially it feels like the brakes are a little stronger- so it does seem that there could be a little more dry grip, but the hard 1-2 shift is just still too much.

So overall it would seem these are a better choice than the MPS1. As to the MPS2, I have no way of knowing, but I would imagine the MPS2 is at least as good as these/ perhaps a notch better.

[thegunguy]

Jerry,

Thanks for the initial report. I've enjoyed my S03s, and I believe the 050PPs have the same tread design but with cutting-edge compounds. I'm sure they're a good improvement over the MPS1s.

[mollyshark]

Ordered the PP for mine today. Will be out of town part of next week and week after, so no good test runs until after. Will report back.